Drug Crimes Push Record Prison Population

Published: May 10, 1993

WASHINGTON, May 9—
An increase in inmates convicted of drug crimes helped raise the nation's prison population to a record 883,593 at the end of 1992, the Justice Department reported today.

The total number of Federal and state prison inmates was up 59,460, a 7.2 percent increase over the previous year, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced. The Federal prison population grew much faster than that of state prisons, up 12.1 percent to 80,259 inmates, while state prisons grew by 6.8 percent to 803,334, the bureau said.

Of all new inmates in 1990 -- the last year for which the bureau had data -- almost one-third were drug offenders, up from 11.5 percent in 1977. That year, for the first time, the number of inmates imprisoned for drug offenses, about 103,800, exceeded those in prison for property crimes, 102,400, the bureau said. About 87,200 inmates were imprisoned for violent crimes.

Insuring prison space for violent criminals is a concern of Attorney General Janet Reno, who noted that prison overcrowding can lead to the premature release of violent inmates. Ms. Reno has suggested replacing some mandatory sentences for nonviolent offenders with alternative sentences.

Correction: May 12, 1993, Wednesday A brief article by The Associated Press on Monday about the increase in the United States prison population misstated the figure in some editions. The total number of inmates in state and Federal prisons was up 59,460 in 1992, a 7.2 percent increase over 1991.